Breathing Fire into Saturn

Panzer Dragoon shows what Sega's 32-bit Saturn is really capable of. Like many games, it begins with a killer opening sequence of full-on 3-D-rendered beasties and effects galore. But for once, these visuals continue in the hyper-vivid, hallucinogenic landscapes of the game. This is a kick in the butt the tired shooter genre badly needed.

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Even more remarkable for the normally brain-dead videogame industry is the game's engaging story line.

In Panzer Dragoon, the 31st century is a bummer: humankind has screwed things up by creating legions of freaky bioweapons in all shapes and sizes. Commandeered by an evil band of humans called the Imperials, the darned things rebelled and now civilization teeters on the brink of extinction.

You play a nice guy who chances upon a blue dragon and its fatally injured pilot. Before the pilot kicks off, he clues you in to the Imperials' plan and his aborted mission to stop them. Now the dragon's yours – so strap on your cyberchaps and take to the skies.

What follows are seven frantic levels of 360-degree blasting aboard your trusty mutated steedas you single-handedly attempt to save the world. You can lock on to as many as eight targets at once – a tactic you'll soon realize is necessary to do as often as possible. These are some epic scale biomechanical nightmares.

Hard-core gaming masochists may not find Panzer Dragoon rigorous enough, but for the other 99 percent of us, it's a joy to behold. Welcome to the next level, indeed.